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Stylus
About the Stylus The Stylus is a large, amphibious arthropod that hunts within the swampy marsh regions of the Forest. On first observation the Stylus appears to be a swan-like creature with multiple sensory pits for eyes and a thick keratin beak, and this is exactly what they want you to believe. Waiting just below the surface is the rest of the beast - the true head, fierce biting mandibles, spiny legs, and many, many more quills. Using the sensory organs on its tail it can accurately sense when to strike its prey, using every tool and weapon in its arsenal to take down its quarry. Its long quills perforate the flesh, its legs rip open tough skin, and its strong mandibles tear chunks out of whatever sorry creature crossed paths with it. Of course, it might be a different story if the thing it was attacking wasn't made out of mushroom, but I wasn't about to find out first-hoof what it could do to non-fungal tissue. The Stylus' quills, though brightly colored so as to suggest toxicity, are completely harmless. Much like a knife is harmless to an adult - It's just the psycho waving the knife around you have to worry about. Stylus eggs are as brightly colored as their quills, being made of a thick coating of the same springy-yet-rigid keratin-like substance. Stylus do not seem to concern themselves with the wellbeing of their eggs, and will simply leave them laying about wherever, providing even more opportunities to trip and fall in the Forest. Grubs when hatching will consume the entirety of their egg casing and will use this matter to help grow what will eventually become their false 'beak'. Stylus young mostly root around in the mud for nutrients, using their 'beaks' as a shovel to help dig themselves into the ground. As adorable as they are, one should remain wary of Stylus grubs; their mandibles are just as capable of lopping off a leg as an adult's are.After storing enough nutrients it will bury itself in mud completely and spin a watertight coccoon with its 'beak', producing more keratin-like material, and will take about a week to mature into a smaller version of its parent. Stylus appear to be able to both produce eggs and fertilize them, and although they are easily domesticated when raised in captivity, trying to farm and eat Stylus eggs is not recommended. Imagine the biggest, nastiest hairball you've ever seen, douse it in hotsauce, roll it around in the world's worst breading, and leave it out in the hot summer sun for a few days. You've basically come about one-fourth of the way to understanding just how rancid a Stylus egg tastes. Stylus meat is about what you'd expect from what is essentially a giant chitin-coated swampy waterbug, though it tastes quite nice when prepared with a lemon glaze, and the legs are to die for! >As mentioned, Stylus are easily domesticated when raised from an egg in captivity, though the market for a pet Stylus is understandably quite limited, as most casual owners end up with a house filled with angry Stylus grubs after forgetting to check their attics for eggs. Under no circumstance should any moth filly be allowed to purchase or otherwise come into possession of Stylus eggs, no matter how much they whine about wanting a "cool attack bug to show off at school every day". They know who they are. You'll know who they are. >Particularly eccentric Moth scholars have been known to keep a Stylus around for their quills as they make excellent, well, quills. This concludes my observations on the rather intimidating Stylus. If anything, their quills are quite useful for taking notes neck-deep in swampwater. References *https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/32008294/#32083941 See Also *Rot: A Compendium *The Forest of the Rot